Join our Twitter Party at #ChangeDayON!

Join Dr. Joshua Tepper and Gail Paech next Friday at 12:15 PM at #ChangeDayON to celebrate the achievements of Change Day Ontario and provide feedback.

You made a change and made a difference.

Two months ago we launched Change Day in Ontario to empower those involved with our health care system to makes changes that can improve compassionate quality care. We asked you to make an individual or group pledge to improve your own health or well-being, the health of your patients, or the system within which you work.

Thousands of you working in all areas of health care and in all parts of the province acted and made pledges either on the Change Day Ontario website or at various events where Change Day Ontario was promoted.

Next Friday (Nov. 17) at 12:15 pm we will be hosting a celebration and a discussion on Twitter to acknowledge your involvement in what has become a global social movement to help improve the experience of health care for patients and providers alike.

The first Change Day was held in the UK to transform people’s frustration “into constructive action.” We believe Change Day in Ontario has another purpose – to help drive the development of compassionate quality care. In the recent Quality Matters report prepared for Health Quality Ontario it was noted that “the real shame is that quality care isn’t more often seen as an exciting opportunity to push and pull the health system to an even higher level. It’s an opportunity to work together … with enthusiasm and confidence that we’ll get it right, one way or the other.” We see Change Day Ontario as part of that opportunity to push the health care system in the right direction – one pledge at a time.

Health Quality Ontario and Associated Medical Services (AMS) were pleased to serve as the sponsors for Change Day in Ontario. While we provided the basic framework to get the word out and the infrastructure to collect the pledges, Change Day Ontario was all about giving people the opportunity to engage with each other through ideas and stories and to share those experiences.

Six months after the original Change Day in the U.K. in 2013, Dr. Damian Roland wrote that “healthcare is an environment where ‘change’ can be an overused and a moral sapping word. While there is much work to be done on demonstrating direct patient benefit … Change Day has demonstrated the passion for improvement is alive and that change is possible.”

In Ontario we similarly believe that Change Day has demonstrated the passion of those working within our health care system to make a difference.

In addition to celebrating that passion we also want to explore the impact of Change Day Ontario and what we can do to maintain the momentum of this movement. During our celebration on Friday we will be posing the following questions and would welcome your input.

What was your pledge for Change Day Ontario and what have you noticed in acting on it?

How can the momentum of Change Day Ontario be maintained?

If Change Day Ontario is held again next year what would you like to see done differently?